Golf circuit says bienvenidos to aspiring Texas pair

PGA Tour Latinoamerica offers Griffin, Lim chance.

Texas Tech alumnus Will Griffin (left) and K.C. Lim, a St. Mary's-ex, will be traveling to the same Latin countries after qualifying for the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, a third-tier circuit below the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour.

Photo By Bob Owen/San Antonio Express-News

Will Griffin practices his short game at Brackenridge Golf Course. Will Griffin and K.C. Lim, will be traveling to the same Latin countries as both golfers have qualified for the PGA Latinoamerica Golf Tour.

Photo By Bob Owen/San Antonio Express-News

K.C. Lim practices putting at Brackenridge Golf Course. He and Will Griffin will be traveling to the same Latin countries as both golfers have qualified for the PGA Latinoamerica Golf Tour.

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Southern exposure

Former St. Mary’s standout K.C. Lim and four-time Greater San Antonio men’s amateur champion Will Griffin have earned spots on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica schedule, which begins next month in Mexico. A look at the 2-year-old tour, the third-tier circuit offered by the PGA Tour:

Schedule

• There are 15 tournaments in nine countries, 144-player fields and a guaranteed $150,000 purse or more at each stop. The schedule will be broken up into eight events from March to May and seven from October to December.

Rankings

• The top six finishers at each event will have the opportunity to earn Official World Golf Ranking points. World rankings dictate entry into some global events and go toward qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Exemptions

• The top five finishers in the Latinoamerica Order of Merit at season’s end earn exemptions onto the ?Web.com Tour (formerly Nationwide Tour). With the elimination of the annual PGA Tour Qualifying School, the Web.com Tour decides PGA Tour status each season.

Standing in a torrential downpour on the 10th tee box at Sun 'N Lake Golf Club in Sebring, Fla., on Thursday, he watched his drive into a raking north wind hook far left and short.

On the bubble at the U.S. qualifier for the 2013 PGA Tour Latinoamerica circuit, Lim heard the horn sound shortly after his swing, stopping third-round play. Soaking wet, discouraged and irritated, the former St. Mary's All-American headed straight off the course and into a funk.

“I was so upset,” said Lim, 28. “It had rained for seven straight holes on me. I had every excuse to quit. I could blame the weather, the officials, everything else.”

Today, instead, the San Antonio resident is joining former four-time city amateur champion Will Griffin in taking part in the PGA Tour's second-year tournament series, which includes 15 events in nine Latin American locales.

The PGA's third-tier series, ranking below its main tour and the Web.com Tour, offers an opportunity for players to earn Official World Golf Ranking points and status on the 2014 Web.com schedule.

“It's a great step for me in pursuing my dream of the PGA Tour,” said Lim, a key cog in the Rattlers' national championship in NCAA Division II in 2006.

There were other steps to take first.

Lim, bolstered by a stern pep talk from his financial and mental backer, auto dealer Ron Heller, returned to the course Friday at 7 a.m. to finish his third round. More than 200 yards from the 10th green, the player laced a 4-iron into a greenside bunker, then almost holed his approach from there to save par.

Lim finished with a 2-over 74. After a lengthy break, he returned to play his final round, scorching the layout for seven birdies and an eagle en route to matching the tournament's low score of 65. His eighth-place finish, at 4-under 284 overall, guaranteed him a full exemption on the PGA Latinoamerica tour.

“(Heller) made me man up mentally,” Lim said of the majority owner of Mercedes-Benz of Boerne. “I had a million reasons to fail. He didn't let me do that. He said, 'Shut up. I don't want to hear that.'”

Griffin, 24, had his own mental hurdles to navigate.

After seeing his third round halted by the weather, shortly after posting a double bogey, the former Texas Tech competitor came back Friday to finish up a round of 76. Well back in the pack, below the top 20 cutoff for full status on the tour, he decided to escape for a while.

Griffin, with a long stretch before his final-round start, grabbed a fishing pole and headed to the nearest fresh-water lake.

“I was able to take my mind off things,” said the Alamo Heights graduate, whose Facebook profile picture often shows him holding up a nice-sized redfish. “It was really pretty out there. I fished about an hour, caught me a bass.”

A short while later, he caught a birdie on his first hole, using it as a kick start to a closing 69 and a top-25 finish. That left him at No. 152 on the overall eligibility list, giving him likely access to all the Latinoamerica stops.

Tour officials told him that with 144 spots available each week, many of the players ranked ahead of him will be competing in Web.com or other professional tour stops.

“I was kind of disappointed at first,” Griffin, who like Lim has played pro mini-tours the past few years, said of finishing the qualifier only two strokes out of the 20th position. “Then they told me it looks like I'll get into all of them.”

The tour begins with a March 14-17 stop at Club de Golf Mexico in Coyacan. The schedule, which features eight tournaments from March through June and another seven from October through December, will also wind through Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Peru and Chile.

The PGA Tour took over the schedule from Tour de la Americas, which ran from 2000-12, with the idea of developing more premier players in Latin America. The Florida qualifier also opened up spots for American hopefuls.

In addition to world rankings points and Web.com status, players will be pursuing a share of $150,000 purses at each event. They also now are PGA Tour members, allowing them onto all TPC courses, including in San Antonio, at no cost.

“I'm excited for the year to come,” Lim said. “Just think. I get to travel the world and play golf.”